Quilt Advice

[Vincent V]

Hello everybody!

 

I am looking at getting my first quilt. I will mainly be using this quilt for fastpacking here in the southeast in the fall, winter, and spring. Right now I have a 40 degree down bag that weighs 1.9 lbs so I am definitely looking to shed some weight.

Here are my questions:

1. I was looking at enlightened equipment but on my first post on BL I got a lot of feedback to go with synthetic. why is this? I have always preferred down.
2. If I go with a down bag from EE should I go with 10 or 20D? or the hybrid option? I was leaning towards the 10D to save weight as right now I am calculating the weight at 16.26 for the 10D and 17.91 for the 20D.  17.26 for the hybrid 10/20D

 

Preferably I would like to have one 20 degree bag and one 40 degree bag but I need to start off with one, I was leaning towards getting a 20 degree but I’m open to opinions on that as well.

 

thanks!

[Lester Moore]

Hi Vincent. Can’t go wrong with an EE quilt for a good mix of quality, function and affordability IMHO. Much of your quilt decision rests on the following nighttime warmth and moisture management factors:

1. What will your shelter be? A small tarp, shaped tarp, bathtub floor or not, full blown double wall tent, etc?
2. What length trips do you take? One or two night trips give you a pretty good idea of weather temps and precipitation for your trip.
3. Do you sleep warm, cold or “normal”?

Down is fine IMHO in all but the worst moisture conditions (prolonged fog and condensation for example). If weight is important to you, and if you’re willing to take a few simple but necessary precautions, then down is hard to beat.

Generally I’d rely on additional shelter accessories over 20d fabric on my quilt to combat moisture or cold. If you know it will be rainy for example, take a good bathtub floor to augment your tarp, or a hybrid bivy (EE Recon) and/or a larger area tarp. Or if you know it will be cold, take a partial solid inner rather than a simple groundsheet for your tarp. Or if expecting snow, take a mid or relatively sturdy tent rather than a small tarp.

You might consider a 40 – 50F synthetic quilt plus a 20F down quilt. The 40 – 50F quilt is fine for summer and you can add it to your down quilt in winter as an over quilt for extra warmth and moisture protection.

 

[Matthew / BPL]

^excellent advice.

I’m more a fan of synthetics for summer quilts. They get big and heavy in lower temp ranges.

Vincent, You haven’t told us much about the conditions you are preparing for in this thread or the other thread. Lester’s questions above are important ones.

[Mike M]

one choice is pretty easy- go with a 20-ish quilt first, you can always add a lighter quilt later on

down or syn is a little trickier- I think a lot of the suggestions regarding syn were based on the fact that fastpacking or runpacking (just made that up) typically relies on a lighter (one could say skimpier) shelter where one is more apt to be exposed to moisture. I think typically fastpacking or runpacking suggests longer, higher output days where sweat might be a concern (it’s not unusual for folks to put in really long days and “camp” simply means crawling in and going to bed).

I think for those reasons, many suggested looking into syn.

 

[Vincent V]

Hi Lester

 

1. Gatewood cape. Still deciding on the serenity nettent but leaning 90% in that direction
2. 1-2 night trips fastpacking, and possibly longer backpacking. Most of my trips will be running trips
3. I sleep fairly warm-normal

You’re right Matthew, I never really clarified on conditions. As far as conditions it will be southeast conditions most of the time which can be humid,hot,cold, very rainy weather. IMHO very diverse conditions depending on the season.

I was leaning towards the serenity nettent over other options even though it weighed a little more mainly because of the bathtub floor for splash safety

 

One thing I will add is that I am getting the women’s neoxlite pad for the added warmth + I can fit on it.

 

I am leaning more towards a 40 degree quilt to start off with now as I can use that more immediately. When winter approaches I will probably look at the 20 degree. But still open to advice.

[Lester Moore]

Still deciding on the serenity nettent but leaning 90% in that direction

Keep in mind that a lighter option like the EE Recon bivy would arguable give you more splash protection of the foot and head area than most net tents. The Recon is fully enclosed around the foot area with DWR fabric, whereas the Serenity is only netting above its 8″ of bathtub. Also, if you secure the four corners of a Recon bivy to the four corners of the underside of your tarp, then you get a slight bathtub effect, with all four corners and the sides slightly elevated above the ground.

[Vincent V]

My only problem with the Recon is the possibility of overheating in early fall, late spring and summer. In October here its common to be 80 degrees with 90-100% humidity.

[Matthew / BPL]

Lester, does the Recon hang well under your Deschutes?

Vinecent, a 40° quilt plus layers will get you lower than 40°.

I’m more enthusiastic about your interest in synthetic quilts when it’s not a 20°.

I hear you on the bathtub floor in the Serenity.

Did you see Cam Hoonan’s recent post on poncho tarps?

[Paul S]

I have an MLD FKT quilt 48/38F and I use it down to freezing (32F) with a bivy, TR NeoAir Xlite women’s pad, beanie and GG down sweater. As others have said/implied, if you expect below freezing a down bag is most likely a better option unless it is a really wet environment.

Regarding poncho tarps: I had a “Learning experience” after getting caught in a nasty T-storm in the Sierras… Keep you guy lines neat, i.e., coil them in such a way that they can’t get tangled while in stored in your pack! Practice pitching it fast.

Warning: both pushing your quilt temperature rating and using a poncho tarp may result in some uncomfortable nights and poor sleep. Campsite selection becomes paramount (master of the obvious here). I do adjust my kit per seasons and conditions; I go with a 20F down bag in the Sierras Sept/Oct.

 

[Mike M]

“Warning: both pushing your quilt temperature rating and using a poncho tarp may result in some uncomfortable nights and poor sleep.”

 

true this :)

 

 

 

[Lester Moore]

My only problem with the Recon is the possibility of overheating in early fall, late spring and summer.

Vincent – the Recon does feel like it adds noticeable warmth when you’re inside of it, so that’s to be taken into account. The heavier netting, partial solid sections and the small interior space probably contribute to the added warmth inside the Recon. You’ll likely have some degree of added warmth with any bug bivy or net tent just due to the slight lessening of drafts by the netting and bathtub floor.

does the Recon hang well under your Deschutes?

Matthew – not really. The Recon hangs only tolerably under my Deschutes tarp – likely the same with any other hex tarp. The Recon has a vertical head panel which would allow it to hang well under a flat tarp, but this design causes sagging under the angled side panel of a shaped or hex tarp.

The Recon is a great product, but just not ideally shaped for my tarp. So I sold my Recon and made a MYOG inner net tent with partial solid inner walls that’s the same weight (7.5 oz) as the Recon but with MUCH more interior space and wind protection.

I’m also working on a design for a hybrid bivy that fits well under a shaped/hex tarp. It will have a shorter ridge line than the Recon (by about 20 inches), angled triangular head and foot panels, full-length partial solid side walls, netting top, and clips at both the head and foot ends to attach to the underside of a tarp. It should hold tension along the ridge when clipped under any tarp, reducing sag and increasing interior space.

 

 

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